Get Your PIM Off the Ground (And Into the Cloud)

If your organization is considering a Product Information Management (PIM) system, it’s likely for the following reason – your product catalog is a sprawling, complex mess on which your team has dedicated a lot of time and money managing manually. Likely you will have several, if not all, of the following situations at your company:

large assortments of products that require continual updates and changes

complexity of products containing multiple attributes and options

diverse customers and customer segments, sometimes positioning the same product differently to different segments

varied sales channels, often across multiple regions with multiple languages

synchronization across systems, with every system being mission critical to sales, operations, and delivery.

There are many more reasons why your company may need a PIM (check out a great list at e-commerce wiki).

Considering the level of complexity and volume handled by a PIM system, users should carefully evaluate their deployment options. For example, EnterWorks offers the flexibility of on-premise and cloud (SaaS) models for deployment.

Many new owners of sophisticated PIM systems seek refuge in the cloud due to its cost-effective structure and ease of use. There, in the stratosphere, virtualized machines and hypervisers handle the huge daily volumes of thousands of products with a multitude of changes, and synchronize those changes across the globe so that customers can purchase and interact with your business when, where and how they choose. PIM users often find the cloud easily handles the workload without the challenges of operating on the ground behind a firewall. Yet even with the benefits of the cloud, organizations still need someone to watch for storm clouds.

“The biggest myth about public cloud is that once you migrate there, all your problems are solved,” says Elizabeth Scott, Vice President of Customer Success at Tenzing, who provide Managed Application Services in the Cloud for PIM and e-commerce systems. “Yet, while most of your performance challenges have the potential to be solved by cloud deployment, it still takes ongoing monitoring. And when it comes to security, you should never take your eye off the ball. Both performance and security require constant vigilance.”

In 2013, EnterWorks opened up new opportunities for customers who desire a less time- and resource-heavy infrastructure for PIM. Those interested in migrating to the public cloud have the option to deploy EnterWorks software via Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Leveraging a leading PIM/MDM solution, deployed via AWS, allows organizations of all types to realize the benefits of a single view of consistent, up-to-date and compelling product information. Yet there are still challenges to consider – like the crucial component of infrastructure management.

“A hosted solution on AWS solves a number of issues, yet users should plan for managing the application and reconfiguring the PIM as demands change or as more domains are added,” says Cody Bateman of EnterWorks. “For example, AWS won’t tell you when you need to scale up to handle seasonal spikes, or down to optimize on resources. Someone who understands the application should monitor performance and security on an ongoing basis. In fact, we often recommend Tenzing to our PIM users; so that they always have a high level of infrastructure expertise and assistance on hand – even at 2:00 a.m. when an urgent patch is needed.”

“The goal is to have no unplanned outages,” adds Elizabeth Scott. “That’s why, regardless of where your PIM resides ─ in your data center or in the cloud ─ 24×7 management of the application is crucial.”

Bateman explains further, “PIM providers are great software architects. We have designed a sophisticated software system to make your complex process much easier, and more importantly, more profitable for you. We work tirelessly to advance and improve the customer experience. Similarly, Tenzing is there – tossing on their hardhats whenever and wherever they’re needed – to provide the heavy-duty infrastructure support that many organizations require. This partnership allows our companies to provide a level of PIM expertise and services support unmatched in the marketplace.”

Tenzing and EnterWorks will be at the 2017 MDM & Data Governance New York conference October 10-12. If you’re looking for stronger infrastructure support, so you can get back to the business of delivering customer experience excellence through the power of PIM, then stop by to see us.

Rusty DiNicola joined EnterWorks in September 2015 as Vice President of Professional Services. DiNicola comes to EnterWorks with more than 20 years of experience in building professional service organizations and delivering a variety of solutions in industries such as energy, manufacturing, retail, consumer goods and pharmaceutical. Most recently, DiNicola was the senior principal at Daugherty Business Solutions, delivering a range of consulting services to Fortune 500 clients. Previously, he was the SVP of global operations at Riversand, a provider of PIM and MDM solutions. DiNicola has also served in leadership roles at Quorum Business Solutions, a software solutions provider, PwC and EDS. DiNicola holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Virginia Tech and will be tasked with growing the overall internal and external delivery capacity of professional services in support of EnterWorks’ growing client base, offerings and services partners.